Water Fountain Surprise

A nesting Mourning Dove is not what you generally expect to find in a water fountain.

This water fountain on the courtyard at Westbury Church of Christ has been out of service for years and must have looked like a easy spot to nest for this young bird.

She was quite an attraction for the young and old alike as they passed on their way to classes this morning.  Maybe in a week or two there will be little ones to photograph.

JRT

Cat Nap

This is your visual illustration for the term 'cat nap.'  Whenever you just have to lay down in the middle of the day because there is no way you can stay awake another minute and you just need a quick nap, any place will do.  Even a nice hard boulder.  That is kind of how I feel now, but it has been a good day and the 'tired' is worth it.  I however am going for something a little longer than a cat nap.

JRT

Wild Flowers

With the amount of rain we have had as we head into spring, this should be an exceptional year for wildflowers.  Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush are beginning to appear along the highways in thick batches.  The only place wildflowers are really unwelcome is when they are the blooms on weeds growing right in the middle of your back yard.  Bye, bye little yellow blossom.

JRT

Morning Dew

There is a little planter in our back yard that has this green grass-like plant growing in it (maybe my wife will know what it's real name is).  I was amazed to see each individual stalk had it's own little dew drop on the very tip of it this morning.  Back-lighting from the rising sun high-lighted each water drop and really gave the green stalks a vividness that causes them to appear to glow from within themselves.  I made a print on glossy photo paper that looks very beautiful.

JRT

Blue Jay Nest

I'll expect you to think, perhaps out loud, that this is pretty crummy photo when you see it.  I will agree.  There is a back story: A pair of blue jays are building a nest outside my office window, so I did what any one would do; I took a camera to work, turned out the lights,  and stood in an office chair to get a better vantage point.  Conditions for excellent photos were not at all present - it was rainy, windy, and dark outside, but I clicked off a few exposures anyway.  This is not a great photo, however it is to me at least, better than no photo.

Last spring a pair of mourning doves built a nest in a similar spot outside that allowed me a clear view.  I could not wait untill there were eggs in the nest, and then baby birdies, and I would bring my camera gear to the office and capture fantastic images.  Before this could happen, the tree trimmers came and cut down the branches that were supporting that nest before I ever took even one picture.  I did not even take a bad picture - opportunity gone, no record at all.

So this spring I hope to be ready when a good photo opp presents itself while keeping one eye out for tree trimmers who I will run off if need be.  I don't feel the pressure to get a 'shot of a lifetime' every time I shoot now and this poor shot is at least a record of these jays and their nest.

JRT

Back Yard Safari

My son gave me a hunting blind for Christmas.  It is lightweight, pitches itself (it's spring loaded), folds down to a small size, and packs into it's own nylon backpack.  He gave it to me because he knew I wanted it to use for hunting with a camera.  With a camera I can shoot critters over and over and there is no clean-up.

I decided to test it today by putting it up in the backyard near the bird feeder.  We have lots of birds visit us, and I was hoping that a pair of blue jays that are always in the area would visit.  After waiting and waiting, I was then hoping for mourning doves, ...then sparrows, waited some more, grackles would have been ok. 

No birds ever flew in, but this mama squirrel came by and checked out the new structure in the yard, and then fed on seed that had fallen below the feeder.  She looks she like has some babies she is feeding.  I hope she brings them by in a few weeks.

JRT

Green Apple

There is not much better than a nice crisp, sweet apple for a snack.  It is even better with a bit of peanut butter smeared on it, and a tall glass of cold milk.  I like these green apples.  They are sweet with just enough tangy tartness to make them interesting.  I may go back for seconds.

JRT

Chrome Grill

For the first time since I started this blog I have fallen behind with the daily posts.  For the last several days I have been in hotel that had free wi-fi, but it was just not a strong enough signal to upload photos; so here I go to getting back on track.

This red ice cream truck resides at Fiesta Texas.  It was in the middle of the afternoon under a bright sun when I happened upon it which creates really hard, unflattering light that creates lots of hot spots on shiny things like red vehicles with lots of chrome.   Finding an viewpoint that would isolate it from backgrounds full of people was a challenge as well.  I like this look vantage point looking at the car head-on.  The grill was almost totally in the shade of an awning which really helped save the chrome from being totally blown out by the sun, and the car itself was used to separate it from it's busy surroundings.  The red is a deep enough hue that it balanced with the chrome tonally, which I think allowed the photo to work even under harsh lighting conditions.

JRT

Chair

I saw a photo of a really colorful chair in front of a grungy looking wall that look like the texture would rub off onyou if you touched it.  I wondered, "where can I go to get a picture like that?"  Nowhere right now was the answer.  But then I decided to just get a regular old folding chair, put it in front of a plain wall, and play with composition and beautiful florescent light.  It was really interesting when I got into it to see how little changes in my shooting level, the angle of the chair, and the spacing between the chair and wall, made big differences.  I get a desire when I look at this photograph, to just sit down and think about it.

JRT

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo - one of their claims is to have the world's largest calf scramble.  28 calves are herded towards 14 kids that try to catch and halter them, and drag the calves back into the center of the arena.  Kids get drug through the dirt, trampled, kicked, and squashed by animals that weigh two to three times what they do.  It is always very entertaining!

JRT

Fresh Air, Fresh Fruit

I really wish I had needed air in my tires when I happened upon this scene. When the gas station operator agreed to let the fruit vendor setup on his lot, maybe he thought this was the best spot.  Now the gas station customers can fill-up with gas, and then air up their tires while shopping for mangos.

JRT

Bright Idea

The bare light bulb.  The iconic symbol of bright ideas.  Tonight's project was to create a classic image of a light bulb with the element glowing  inside an otherwise perfectly exposed bulb.  Problems quickly arose: 1) We do not have any incandescent bulbs in the house anymore, we have gone totally compact florescent. 2) The only clear bulb I could find was in the garage. 3) It is tinted blue. 4) The bulb is coated in dust that is baked in place. 5) It does not have a traditional filament. 6) It is 120 watts.

I tried balancing the extremely high light output with flash, merging exposures as high dynamic range images, and merging layers in Photoshop.  None of these efforts came close to giving me the image I had in mind. 

In the final image you see here: the original has been desaturated to remove the blue tint, exposure turned down to give detail to the filament and bulb, and fill light added to give details to the brass socket.  Not exactly what my bright idea was, but it will do until I can get a more appropriate bulb.

JRT

Blue Glass

As  a photographer, I tend to look at a lot of photography, which I am sure sounds fairly reasonable.  Many of the photos I see are wonderful, and I wonder can I ever take photos like that?  Then I see some that I don't think are as good as my stuff and I should be the one getting called by National Geographic and sent to exotic lands for photo shoots.  Of course I know this is how people look at my photography also.

It is fun for me to try and predict who or will not like my latest efforts.  Every now and then I think I have created an image that publishers should be fighting over and it gets no response at all.  Then I'll drop the camera, it goes off accidentally, and folks go wild.  A bit of an exaggeration, but I do enjoy learning what folks think about what I have shot and getting their feedback.

JRT

Nectar For A Nickel

This sign can be seen driving south on Highway 36 as in goes through Wallis, Texas.  I would love to know how old the sign is and something about the person or company that painted it.  And, I have never even heard of Fruit Bowl!  

JRT

Texas Sky

 

If every weekend were this nice in Texas, everyone would want to live here.

JRT

Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

Boats evoke many emotions in people whether they are dreaming of a cruise to exotic lands, fishing for the big one, or simply escaping onto their favorite lake and just relaxing.  This boat gives me a sinking feeling.

JRT

Cardboard Weave

I received some materials at the office several days ago that were packed with this cardboard that has been sliced so that it is springy and soft.  It looks like a basket weave and I found the light and shadow patterns within it interesting.  When I laid it under a light to photograph it, the light came through it and made anther interesting shadow pattern on the table.  A black and white treatment really shows off the texture and pattern.

JRT

Round Things

Today's post is a bit of photography and a bit of a Photoshop project.  Not long ago on a rainy evening I gathered a few things that were round from around the house and photographed them.   Today I thought about resizing the items so they were the same size, and placing them the same background, so I did.  It took a bit of time and effort, but I am sure I learned techniques that I will be useful in the future.

JRT

Prissy

Prissy is a wonderful dog, she is smart, affectionate, and a good companion; always eager to accompany you on any outdoor task.  She was"helping" me take pictures recently.  Her favorite helpful technique was to rub up against me as I sat on the bank after wading through the water, usually positioning herself between my camera lens and whatever I was pointing it at.  It is good to be loved.

JRT

59 Diner

I enjoyed the neon sign pics from yesterday so much I wanted to try and improve on them.  I shot a little earlier in the evening and worked to  balance the neon with the color in the sky.  To perform a balancing act like this, just wait for the sky darken until it is a little darker that your subject and fire away - it changes quickly.

59 Diner serves one of the best milkshakes I have ever had.

JRT

Neon Night Lights

It is another stormy night here in the Houston area which really makes the neon stand out against the dark sky.  I spotted a few more candidates for future dark evenings.  It will be nice when the days are longer and it is not already dark when I drive home.

JRT